Athlete Journal: Charles Staley, Entry 79 - Turning Up the Volume

EDITOR'S NOTE:Ever wonder how a world-class coach actually trains? Wonder what it's like to train as a "mature athlete?" Welcome to the athlete journal of Charles Staley. A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done this week in his workout sessions.

Well, my training volume has dropped for three weeks in a row, and not by design. Part of it is that after doing high-rep kettlebell work, I’m finding myself completely spent, and I end up blowing off additional posterior chain work, which accounts for a lot of volume.

Next week, and for coming weeks, I’ll be focusing conscientiously on bring this volume back up, regardless of how it happens. As the old saying goes, “The wider the base, the higher the peak.”

Weekly Volume And Noteworthy Lifts:

Volume: 24,510 lbs (Last Week: 38,322 lbs)

Deadlift: 315x10

Kettlebell Snatch: 53x40

Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 5:50 PM

Bodyweight: 197.6 lbs

Volume: 7,985 lbs

POWER CLEAN

Set 1: 65 lbs × 3

Set 2: 65 lbs × 3

Set 3: 95 lbs × 3

Set 4: 115 lbs × 3

Set 5: 135 lbs × 3

Set 6: 155 lbs × 1

Set 7: 175 lbs × 1

Set 8: 185 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: This was just for fun - hadn’t done a clean in over a year.

CAMBERED BAR SQUAT

Set 1: 65 lbs × 5

Set 2: 115 lbs × 5

Set 3: 155 lbs × 3

Notes: I experienced some strange pain in my left kneecap that I couldn’t shake off, so that ended my squat session early.

KETTLEBELL SNATCH

Set 1: 36 lbs × 50

1-HAND KETTLEBELL SWING

Set 1: 36 lbs × 80

Thursday, February 20, 2014, 5:50 PM

Bodyweight: 198 lbs

Volume: 2,165 lbs

BENCH PRESS

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 2

Set 5: 210 lbs × 2

Saturday, February 22, 2014, 5:55 PM

Bodyweight: 198.6 lbs

Volume: 14,360 lbs

DEADLIFT

Set 1: 135 lbs × 3

Set 2: 135 lbs × 3

Set 3: 135 lbs × 3

Set 4: 225 lbs × 2

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 315 lbs × 1

Set 7: 400 lbs × 3

Set 8: 315 lbs × 10 (Video Below)

Notes: 400 felt terrible today, but I managed to get a fairly decent backoff set in afterward.